Squirrels' national title hopes end in pool play

~ Charleston fell to 0-3 at the Senior Babe Ruth World Series

The Charleston Fighting Squirrels quest for their first Senior Babe Ruth World Series title ended Sunday evening at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium in Ephrata, Washington.

The Tri-Township Falcons of Pennsylvania scored in all but two innings and cruised to an 11-1 victory in six innings.

The Falcons led 8-0 after they tallied seven runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Charleston scored its lone run in the top of the fourth inning when Luke Haines reached base on a one-out double and scored on a two-out RBI single by Matt Ulrich.

Tri-Township added two runs in the fourth inning and secured a run-rule win on a two-out RBI single by Pat Driscoll in the bottom of the sixth.

Jarrett Sandlin pitched the first 1 2/3 innings for Charleston. Three of the eight runs he allowed were earned. He walked four, gave up four hits and struck out one.

Ulrich pitched the remainder of the game. He allowed three unearned runs, four hits, walked one and struck out five in four innings.

Eddie Decker pitched a complete-game for Tri-Township. He allowed four hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter.

Driscoll finished 2 for 3 with a team-high three RBIs, while Pat Reilly finished 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and a double.

Charleston committed six errors, while Tri-Township did not commit an error.

The top three finishers in each five-team pool qualify for the single-elimination bracket-play portion of the tournament. Charleston, which dropped to 0-3 in the American Division Pool with Sunday's loss, can not finish in the top three in its pool.

Charleston (40-19) plays its final game at the Senior Babe Ruth World Series at 1 p.m. today against the Alabama Rawdogs, the defending national champion.

Pennsylvania 11, Charleston 1 (6 inn.)

Missouri 000 100 -- 1 4 6

Pennsylvania 170 201 -- 11 8 0

WP -- Eddie Decker. LP -- Jarrett Sandlin. HR -- Pat Reilly (P). 2B -- Brad Potts (M), Luke Haines (M), Robert Knox (P), Pat Driscoll (P), Charlie Hooker (P), Reilly (P). Multiple hits -- Pennsylvania: Reilly 2-3, Driscoll 2-3.